Buy Wise employees were upset by the news earlier this week that the electronics retailer is being at least partially liquidated, but several said they planned to remain loyal.

``We don`t want to lay down and die,`` said Richard Durland, manager of the chain`s store at its Deerfield Beach headquarters. ``We`re hanging in here by our fingernails.``

On Wednesday, a judge named bankruptcy examiner Morris Berger to head Buy Wise. Ten of the company`s 18 stores have already closed, and more will close in the next few weeks.

The move came after Buy Wise was unable to obtain financing to buy new inventory and meet day-to-day expenses. Creditors had said they were tired of losing money, and saw little hope for the company`s revival.

The family-run company had pumped about $500,000 into the firm in an effort to get it moving again. Buy Wise Chairman Frank Kamerling even dipped into his own pocket to meet the payroll earlier this month. That is why some employees said they were willing to take a risk and stay with the company.

``We`re not Sears, we`re not Circuit City, we`re the homegrown chain,`` said salesman Robert Reynolds.

Kamerling said he is still trying to obtain financing in hopes of operating the chain at a reduced level.

``We`re going to try,`` he said. ``We haven`t given up.``

Berger, the bankruptcy examiner who now runs the company, will launch a giant clearance sale, starting Saturday. He said the company will probably decide which stores will close next week.

``It`s difficult to say`` whether the company will survive at a reduced level, he said. ``Employee morale is high. We were honest with them. We told them we don`t know who`s going to stay, who`s going to go.``

One retail analyst said that electronics retailing has been a cutthroat business and not very profitable lately, except for retailers such as Sound Advice that cater to the upper end of the market.

``The ones that are under-capitalized cannot survive a recessive economy,`` said Herbert Leeds of Miami.